Today I would like to share with you some pictures I took in Toronto during our last trip to North America in the autumn of 2019. We came to Canada to attend Sarah and Nate’s wedding, and it was my first time visiting this country.

Downtown, day 1

We took it slow on the first day after arrival. We were staying together with friends and family in an Airbnb house in Brampton. We had a breakfast, picked up a rental car and went to a nearby moll, where we bought SIM cards and had a lunch.

Late in the afternoon we drove to Toronto Downtown. We didn’t do much there, just had a stroll around the famous CN Tower, went to the waterfront and had a couple of drinks on a cozy open air terrace.

It was probably the last warm day that year and I was wearing a summer dress.

On the next couple of days we attended the beautiful wedding, spent some time with the family and had a trip to St. Catharines and Niagara Falls, where I took so many photos, which I’d like to share in a separate post.

Downtown, day 2

Having returned from St. Catharines, we spent another couple of days exploring Toronto. We went to Downtown again and had a longer walk there.

Downtown in Toronto has this typical business district vibe. It’s full with tall buildings, housing countless offices, shops, banks and restaurants.

Again, we walked along the waterfront, enjoying the fresh autumn air.

Distillery District

Having explored the downtown, we decided to drive to the Distillery District. This pedestrian area full with 19th century buildings got its name for housing once a large whiskey distillery. These days it’s a hip area with good restaurants and bars, designer boutiques and art installations. We absolutely enjoyed browsing in its shops.

There we also had a lunch in BOKU, a nice Japanese place.

Kensington Market

On another day we went to see Kensington Market, another hip area with its unique vibe. It’s a popular alternative-multicultural area, which is considered to be a symbol of tolerance in Toronto.

In this neighbourhood, you will find many Victorian homes, numerous specialty grocers and bakeries, vintage boutiques and arts spaces.

Driving and parking in these narrow streets should be particularly challenging.

The area is full of vintage and modern murals and indie art installations. It’s known to be the most photographed neighbourhood in Toronto.

Chinatown

Located just 10 walking minutes away from Kensington Market, Chinatown strikes with its authenticity. It’s full with Asian open-air markets and shops offering fresh fruits, vegetables and other Asian goods. Of course there are also many Asian restaurants and cafés.

We had a lunch in a very Chinese restaurant called Harmony. The food made me feel as if I was back to China! We also spent some time in a bubble tea shop Hey Sugar, where I had literally the best bubble tea I’ve ever tried.

Photos taken in September 2019

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Two days of our journey we spent at the base of Mt. Fuji. Together with our friend Paul who lives in Tokyo we went to a tiny town called Fujiyoshida and had a great time there.

Day 1

To get there, we took an early bus from Shinjuku station. We did not buy tickets in advance, and we got really lucky to get the last three tickets. Despite the pandemic, the bus was full. As we arrived, we headed straight to the hotel and left our luggage there. The ‘hotel’ was in fact an old two-storey house with a couple of spacious tatami-flloor rooms managed by a friendly Japanese old lady, who gave us a key to our room and demonstrated how to make a futon bed. We’ve already done it so many times in the past, but I guess they always show it to foreigners.

After we left our luggage, we went to explore. We did not have a clear plan, just a list of the sights we wanted to visit. We were also not sure, which of them were open, since many museums and public places in the country were closed due to the pandemic. To our luck, there was a tourist information center, where a nice lady gave us a map of the area, marking close and open attractions. This was super useful, as she also marked the spots of our interest and advised from where and at what time of day Mt. Fuji looks at its best, and told us which transportation means should we take to get to these places. In addition, she also instructed us what to do in case we experience COVID symptoms and gave us a phone number to call, should this happen.

Mt. Tenjo Panoramic Ropeway (also known as Mt. Kachi Kachi Ropeway)

Although the lady from the tourist information office told us the view from Mt. Tenjo is better in the morning, we could not afford waiting, as we also had other plans for the next day.

We took a cable a car to get on top. There we saw a small caffe, an observation deck and several hilarious figures of tanuki, or Japanese raccoon dog, and a bunny. The observatory has a view of the lake, as well as Aokigahara forest, and Mount Fuji.

It was windy and very sunny. The sky was so clear! Not the best condition for photography, but the view was still enjoyable. From there, we also could see the Fuji-Q Highland, the amusement park which stood silent these days, closed for indefinite time because of the pandemic. It brought back memories of one sunny autumn day Sergio and I spent there a couple of years ago.

Some moments later the summit was covered by a cloud.

It was so cold there! Despite the fact that I put on all the clothes I had, it was still freezing cold.

Now what’s the deal with these tanuki and bunny figures? It turned out, there is a folktale about this place, and these two animals are its main heroes. The line name Mt. Kachi Kachi comes from this folktale. Despite the fact they seem so cute, the tale is rather dark and includes torture and death. Better read it yourself.

Walking along the shore of Lake Kawaguchi

As next we wanted to see a great photographic spot in the Oishi Park. At first, we though we would be able to get there on foot before the sunset, so we walked along the shore of Lake Kawaguchi, enjoying the view and the nice conversation.

At some point we realized that the sunset may actually come sooner than we expected. Luckily, we were walking along the bus route.

Sunset views of Mt. Fuji at the Oishi Park

We arrived to the spot just in time. The sun already started to set and I enjoyed photographing Mt. Fuji in changing light.

Finally, it got dark, and we headed back to the bus. On the way, we saw a very interesting example of modern architecture. It turned out to be the Hoshinoya resort. I would definitely love to spend a night there someday.

The bus brought us back to the ropeway station. From there, we got to walk a little towards the train station. Our hotel was one train stop away from where we were, but before we took the train, we had a nice dinner at a tempura restaurant not far from the station.

Back to the train station

At the station, we had to wait a bit, and when the train arrived it turned out to be decorated with anime characters.

Day 2

My plan was to get up early on the next day and to get to one interesting photo spot to make use of the beautiful morning light. The guys, who are not that passionate about photography, wouldn’t join. I was still jetlagged and, oh well, I’m not a morning person (especially during vacation), so the plan failed on my side, too.

Once we all were ready, we moved our luggage into the locker at the train station to save some time later. Our return bus tickets were for later time, so we had plenty of time to see the remaining sights on our list.

We enjoyed some combini snacks and coffee for breakfast and walked towards, perhaps, one of the most popular tourist attractions in the region and in Japan, but I’ll come later to that. Again, we chose walking, as we wanted to see the town.

We passed by some temples and blooming trees, enjoying the ambience of the provincial town, which at some moments seemed even deserted. It was out of season, plus the pandemic played its role. The streets were empty and almost all local stores and restaurants we were passing by were closed.

Many associate Japan with skyscrapers and hi-tech, however, this country has another face — its countryside, which I find absolutely charming. A railroad, a web of wires connecting electricity poles, and a badass mountain in the background — I could easily imagine it being a scene from an anime of some well-known director.

Chureito Pagoda in Arakurayama Sengen Park

And here we are, at one of the most famous sights in Japan! The sight of the five-story Chureito Pagoda in Arakurayama Sengen Park is probably known to everyone. Usually accompanied with cherry blossoms, it often decorates tourist booklets or general articles about Japan. Finally, we got to see this spot with our own eyes!

As you can see in the photographs, we were a bit early for cherry blossoms, and the sun was on the ‘wrong’ side (and I didn’t bring any lens filters), so I didn’t manage to take a booklet-level masterpiece shot. We still enjoyed the view, though.

Hopefully someday I’ll get to see this place in its full beauty with cherry blossoms around.

Back to the town

We still had plenty of time before our bus back to Tokyo, so, again, we chose to walk back to the town. We walked along the Honcho street enjoying the view.

Kitaguchi-hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine

Our next destination was Kitaguchi-hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine, a UNESCO-listed Shinto shrine complex. The first religious building was built at this very spot in 100 A.D., and since then the place served religious purposes. As the starting point of the Yoshida Trail, during the Edo Period, it was used by pilgrims to pray before their religious pilgrimage up to Mt. Fuji’s summit.

These days the shrine consists of several wooden structures. I found the stone lanterns framing the path through the forest and the surrounding trees which must be over hundred years old especially impressive.

Coffee bus

Right next to the temple stood a retro coffee bus. Of course I couldn’t resist trying their coffee! I even managed to have a small talk in Japanese with the shop owner, who told me that he roasts the beans manually in a small roaster — he actually had it there in the bus!

Donki

We had a simple dinner in one of Matsuya restaurants we found there. After that, it started getting dark, Mt. Fuji completely hid behind thick clouds and it was freezing cold. Fortunately, we stumbled upon a Don Quijote store (or simply Donki), one of those which sell everything possible. We decided to use the opportunity to buy some things from our list to bring home.

It was definitely a great trip with lots of walking and seeing great things. We will definitely return to the area once it will be possible again.

Photos taken in March 2020

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Another day of our trip we decided to spend in Shinjuku. Shinjuku is one of Tokyo’s wards, considered as major commercial and administrative centre of the city. It’s packed with shops, bars, clubs, restaurants, galleries and all sorts of other establishments. Also its railway station is the busiest in the world.

Although many other parts of Tokyo seemed to be more quiet than usual, affected by the beginning of the pandemic, on that day Shinjuku was as lively as before. In short, our plans for the day included having a ramen, visiting the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, taking some photographs at the Omoide Yokocho and, finally, doing some shopping.

Ichiran ramen

Although Ichiran is a popular ramen chain, we’ve never been to any of its restaurants before, always giving a preference to the Ippudo chain or other individual shops. This time we were curious to try the ramen of Ichiran.

Their ramen could be distinguished by thin noodles and a hearty tonkotsu broth. It was tasty, although I was a bit disappointed by the plain egg — I prefer when it’s marinated.

A very striking difference was in the way you get to eat your ramen! It’s being served in individual booths, so that you don’t get to interact with others and can focus on your ramen. Interactions with the serving personnel are also minimal. You enter the building and select your dish in a vending machine, paying in advance. After you get your receipt, you get an individual booth assigned to you. There, you get a pen and a piece of paper, where you can customise your ramen based on your preferences, picking from different options like, for example, richness of the broth or whether you want some garlic and spicy sauce in it. Your meal is served through a little window in the booth, which gets shut with a curtain after you have it served. Such a dream shop for introverts!

It was definitely an interesting experience, however, for me ramen is a social meal. I really enjoy going to ramen shops with friends, and that makes other shops like Ippudo more attractive for me.

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

After the lunch we walked towards the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. It’s a very famous park and garden, but somehow we never got to visit it before.

I believe this place should be beautiful in any season, but we particularly enjoyed being there during the spring time. Just look at the photos I took that day!

This park is such a calm place. Being there, it’s hard to believe there is a bustling megapolis out there.

Being in this park reminded me of ‘The Garden of Words‘, a brilliant anime film by Makoto Shinkai. Its action is actually happening in the Shinjuku Gyoen.

Although it was still early for the peak cherry blossom season, we discovered a beautiful early blooming tree near the pond.

We really enjoyed being in the park and stayed there until it’s closing time.

Omoide Yokocho

It started getting dark and we hurried to the Omoide Yokocho, an alleyway full of tiny BBQ restaurants. I discovered this photogenic spot back in 2013, before it became popular amongst Instagram photographers. I couldn’t resist stopping by at that place again.

We were considering having a dinner in one of the yakitori places at Omoide Yokocho, however, we were still not hungry at that time. Furthermore, we already had a heavy ramen that day, and another meaty meal felt like an overkill.

We spent further couple of hours doing shopping in the area. We were in the Tokyu Hands, when all shops in the area started to close. Apparently, they shortened their hours of operation due to the pandemic. So, we started looking for dinner options.

Sushi for dinner

The large train station of Shinjuku hosts many restaurants. We though it would be good to have some sushi. We soon discovered that many restaurants were also closing early that day, however, we still managed to find a sushi shop which was still open. The sushi were really good! It’s a shame I did not memorise the name of the place.

Photos taken in March 2020

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Let me continue sharing some fragments of our trip to Colombia last year. In the rest of our first week in Bogotá, we visited some touristic attractions and I discovered even more new dishes.

La Mariposa

Once, while we were driving, I saw an interesting view: a hill covered with tiny houses forming colourful clusters. Sergio told me that from aerial perspective this settlement should form a butterfly (la mariposa in Spanish). He also added that a tourist shouldn’t go there, since it’s a poor area and there is a high risk to get stabbed.

Usaquén

We visited the locality Usaquén which appeared to be nice and clean.

There, we had some coffee in a caffe and walked around the area.

We stumbled upon a small outdoor market. At that place one could buy various Colombian souvenirs. I bought myself a piranha preserved in plexiglas. Isn’t that cool?

Bogotá Botanical Garden

We also went to visit the Bogotá Botanical Garden. I always enjoy seeing unusual plants, and Colombia has a lot to offer in that domain. It turned out, however, that during these days, the botanical garden was hosting an exhibition. Its grounds turned into a large display of colourfully lit installations demonstrating the Colombian flora and fauna. So, instead of visiting the greenhouses, we spent a couple of hours going through the exhibition, which also was super fun to do.

We went there just before the dawn.

After the sun went down, they turned on the lights in the installations.

Passing by a sports ground

Bandeja paisa

On some other day, our friends Cindy and Carlos brought us to the restaurant El Envigadeño for another must try. Bandeja paisa is a typical dish from the Paisa region. It includes beans, a couple of different sausages, poached egg, carne molida (ground meat), chicharron (fried pork belly), fried platano (cooking banana) and rice. It’s usually served with arepas (corn bread) on the side. You can imagine, such a dish easily covers a weekly caloric intake of an average person.

The portions which we ordered were humongous and I could barely manage to finish a half.

The restaurant itself was decorated in a very peculiar way.

Paloquemao market

Another very fun place to visit in Bogota is the Paloquemao market. It’s a large local farmer’s market, selling fruit, vegetables, meat, fish and flowers. I’ve never seen so many exotic things under one roof!

In addition, they got kiosks selling ready meals. One can buy a meal and eat it seating on plastic chairs directly next to the shop — not the most convenient way, but definitely a fun experience! I tried a tamale, and it was very delicious.

Furthermore, at the market, they also sell tasty juices (which are more like smoothies).

Catedral de Sal, Zipaquirá

On another day together with Cindy, Carlos and their baby-son we went on a day trip to Zipaquirá, a town located in about 50 km north from Bogota. Its main attraction is the Catedral de Sal, a cathedral built under ground in the former salt mine. It is very unusual, and definitely worth visiting!

The church was built in the 90s within the tunnels of a salt mine 200 metres underground. It consists of various corridors and sanctuaries located in the caves left behind by previous mining operations. The combination of light and stone carvings makes its architecture truly mesmerising.

After visiting the mines, we joined a bus tour to the town of Zipaquirá. The town looked different compared to Bogota, but it was actually quite a typical provincial town, as I observed it in the next couple of weeks while visiting other regions of Colombia.

Photos taken in January 2020

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It was by all means an unusual trip. I was in-between the jobs and though it would be nice to spend a week in my favourite country before diving deep into my new role — ironically, just like I did before taking my previous job. Back then in 2018 we went on a two-week trip which I already covered in a series of posts on this blog.

In fact, we decided quite spontaneously to go on that trip: on some day in February I was just browsing ticket prices to whatever places — the activity I enjoyed doing pre-pandemic. I noticed that round-trip prices to Tokyo were lower than usually. That was certainly affected by the beginning of the pandemic and its spread in Asia, but back then people in Europe (us included) were not taking it seriously. I mean, nothing like that ever happened in our lives, and it was impossible to foresee how the whole thing will turn out. So, we bought the tickets just two weeks before going on this 10-day trip. We didn’t know yet it was meant to be our last trip overseas for a long period of time.

In the beginning of March 2020, we were flying back to Tokyo. It was tempting to buy another JR Pass, but that time we did not have enough time for a trip through the country. So, Tokyo was our primary destination and we were planning to leave it only once during the trip — to visit Fujiyoshida, a town close to Mt. Fuji, but I’ll come to that in one of the following posts.   

Arrival day

As always, the flight was quite long and exhausting. I didn’t sleep at all and we arrived to Tokyo early in the morning. For the first couple of nights we booked a hotel where we’ve already stayed before. It’s located in the familiar to us Ningyocho area. In 2013, when I spent six months in Tokyo, we used to live close by and know almost all the shops and restaurants in the area. 

It was raining in Tokyo, so we decided to take a direct shuttle bus from the Narita airport which took us to Suitengumae station. We had to walk from there for about 10 minutes, but that was quite straightforward, since we know the area and didn’t even need any map.

Despite the fact that our planned check-in time was much later, the room was already free, and we were allowed to use it. That was such a big help! We were exhausted, and I was desperate to take a shower. 

According to our initial plan we were going to spend the day doing some shopping at Akihabara and then meeting friends there at a yaki-niku (Japanese BBQ) place. However, we were so tired, that we just went out to have lunch in Kaisen Misakiko, a sushi kaiten nearby our hotel, then returned to the room, had a nap, and went to Akihabara only late in the evening to meet with the friends. It was a very pleasant evening.

Familiar places

Next morning we managed to get up early. We planned so much for the day! 

First thing, we went to Kappabashi, the area in Tokyo we also know very well, since we spent there our three months in 2015. We took the subway to Iriya station and enjoyed walking the familiar streets from there. 

It was such a nice and sunny March morning! We saw some early cherry blossoms.

On the way, we passed by the old house where we used to live, to check if it’s still standing. The whole area almost hasn’t changed since our last visit in 2018!

Shopping at Kappabashi

We went there not just because of feeling nostalgic. Kappabashi-dori is famous for its shops supplying restaurants with all possible items from kitchen utensils to furniture and food-making machines. Although the target customers are restaurant owners, it does not mean you can’t shop there as an ordinary shopper.

In fact, many tourists come to visit that street to buy some souvenirs and to visit the so called sampuru (from English ‘sample’) shops, selling food samples made of plastic. These are often used at restaurants in their shop display windows to demonstrate the menu. Such sample items often look soooo realistic, that it’s even hard to tell that it’s only plastic. Huge pieces can be costly, but some shops offer small items as souvenirs like a tiny sushi or even a kit to make your own food sample. 

We were planning to buy some stuff for our home, like beautiful ramen bowls and some miscellaneous ceramic items. We always wanted to do this kind of shopping there, but were always constrained by the luggage allowance. This time we made sure to leave some extra space for our dinnerware. 

Besides, I wanted to visit the shop called ‘Union’, which sells everything possible for coffee from dripper filters to syphones, cold brew towers and even roasting devices — everything from popular Japanese brands like Hario or Kalita. They sell roasted coffee as well. It’s a paradise for a coffee lover like me, and of course I didn’t leave it empty-handed.

As for the ceramics, the challenge was to find a shop. I didn’t look for any recommendations in advance, so instead we just quickly went through the whole street and noted some potential stores. The one we liked most, Maeda, was located almost in the end of the street. Their showroom wasn’t fancy, but the products they were selling were amazing. There we managed to find everything which was on our list, and the shop staff wrapped everything with care and provided us with a tax free document.

We could have spent more time at Kappabashi, however, our agenda for the day was full. We made a quick stop at Sensing Touch of Earth, a cozy coffee shop which we like despite it’s weird name. I ordered a matcha latte to-go, and we continued walking back towards the subway station.

Imperial Palace

We returned to the hotel and left the stuff we bought at Kappabashi and immediately went back to the subway. This time we were heading to Chiyoda, the administrative center of Tokyo. You may remember the story (which I told you in this post) of how we missed the chance to visit the Imperial Gardens. During that trip we were determined to fix that.

Furthermore, this time I even applied online to get us spots on an official free guided tour through the Imperial Palace grounds. Usually such an application is not necessary, but very helpful. It assures that you will take part in the excursion if you show up at the scheduled time. Visitors without such registrations would be served on a first-come basis.

This time, however, we wouldn’t get in without our registration. Because of the pandemic, many public places like museums, galleries and observation decks decided to close indefinitely. The Imperial Palace excursion takes place outdoors and it was not cancelled, however, the number of participants was limited only to those who were pre-registered. So, we were in!

You may wonder, what is actually this tour about? The Imperial Palace has been the residential place of the Japanese Emperor family since 1868. In the Imperial Palace Complex consisting of several buildings the ruling family undertakes its official duties. Different ceremonies and public activities also take place there.

The excursion is a guided walking tour. There are guides speaking different languages. On that day there were an English speaking and a French speaking guides. The only French couple who joined on that day got a very exclusive tour. We joined the English speaking group of course.

The duration of the walk is about one hour (you will cover about 2.2 km). Taking photographs is allowed, however, you should keep the group’s pace. There are special people following the group who make sure that nobody stays behind.

In general, it was an interesting experience. We’ve learned that all imperial buildings were actually quite modest (no aqua discotheque or anything).

Lazy afternoon in the Imperial Gardens

After the excursion we were a bit hungry. We didn’t have time for lunch before the excursion, and after it was already quite late. There was no point in having a complete meal since in a couple of hours we were meeting up with my former colleagues with whom we were going to have a dinner at an izakaya (a Japanese bar serving drinks and small foods). So, we grabbed some snacks from a convenience store and headed towards the Eastern Imperial Gardens.

There we just sat on the ground in the middle of a park enjoying the sun. It was so warm, we even were able to remove the jackets! We had our snacks, and Sergio told me he would like to take a nap — right there in the park. So, I took my camera and went to explore.

Meeting with my colleagues

In the evening, we went to the institute where we both used to work to meet with my former team. I was as always very glad to see them. There were of course many new members, staff and interns — all are nice people, with whom we spent a pleasant evening in an izakaya. One thing which never happened to us before: the izakaya was completely empty and we were the only customers. 

Night blossoms at Chidorigafuchi

After the party was over, Fumiki offered us to show the early blooming trees in the park near Cidorigafuchi. In the spirit of hanami, we bought some drinks in a convenience store and headed to the park. We were impressed by the large magnolia trees in full bloom.

Midnight snack

At midnight, returning to our hotel, we realised we were hungry again. I guess our jet lag was playing tricks on us. We decided to make a quick stop at a Yoshinoya next to our hotel, and discovered some new healthy items on the menu. The meal I ordered was very delicious!

Photos taken in March 2020

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One year ago we spent the New Year night on board of a transatlantic plane, and I guess that has been my most unusual New Year celebration so far. The flight operated by Avianca was full. Close to the midnight in the European time the flight attendants offered us some small drinks to cheer to the coming year. After the imaginary countdown the crew turned on some Colombian New Year song. And so we were in the 2020! Since we were heading towards West, crossing multiple time zones, I guess it would be possible to celebrate the 2020 multiple times, however, shortly after the lights were dimmed. I tried to sleep, but unfortunately I lack the super power of sleeping on planes. 

Finally we landed in Bogota. I was tired and super excited at the same time! We took a taxi from the airport. It was still night in Bogota, and the streets were empty, so it didn’t take very long for us to get to Sergio’s parents’ home. His Mom and Dad were already waiting for us. Since it was late at night, everyone went straight to bed shortly after saying hello.

First morning of 2020

Next day we spent at home with family. For breakfast I got offered some amazing tropical fruits, the kind I’ve never tried before, and avocados from the backyard of Sergio’s grandmother. The grandmother lives in a different town, but Sergio’s parents went to visit her for Christmas and brought the avocados back with them. These avocados were the tastiest I’ve ever had, with perfect creamy texture and intense green color.

We waited for Sergio’s youngest brother Juan and his wife Stefy to come back from work, and then, with the whole big family, we went to have lunch at a chicken place not far from home. There I had a soup ajiaco and fell in love with it. 

Visiting a mall

We decided to take it slow on the first day and didn’t plan any touristy things. So, we went to a mall instead. I didn’t plan to do any shopping, but then I discovered some really cool local apparel brands and it was hard to resist buying. At the mall I also tried a soursop (guanabana) juice and it became my favourite. It’s funny, but in Colombia they call ‘juice’ what Europeans rather call ‘smoothie’. I love those!

Trying Pacific cuisine

Next day together with Sergio’s parents and both his brothers we went for lunch to a restaurant in the downtown to try some typical food of the Colombian Pacific. As you probably already have noticed, I tried so many new foods during that trip I ordered a cazuela de mariscos, a hearty creamy soup with lots of seafood. It was amazingly tasty and the portion was enormous (no, I didn’t manage to finish it). 

In the downtown

After the lunch Sergio and I stayed in the downtown, while the others went back home or to work. Sergio warned me that one has to be especially cautious in this area, since people get mugged there, and that I shouldn’t take out my huge camera too often.

To my surprised expression, he answered: ‘That’s why you probably haven’t seen that many pretty pictures of Bogota on the Internet’.

We went to explore La Candelaria, the historic neighbourhood with many interesting sights. There we saw some policemen with guns patrolling the area and Sergio said, that it should be safe to use the camera at least at that street. 

Museo de Bogotá

The first sight we saw was the Museum of Bogota (Museo de Bogotá). It’s a small museum with free admission located in the villa La Casa de los Siete Balcones. The permanent exposition demonstrates artefacts of the city history as well as daily objects which were used back in the day in Bogota. 

I also appreciated the old villa’s yard, which felt like a little green oasis in the chaotic downtown. It was also safe to use my camera there and I enjoyed taking photos of various plants in the villa’s yard.

Upon leaving the museum I told Sergio that I would like to try some good coffee — the Colombian product I appreciate the most. It’s funny, but for a long time coffee was considered a purely export product in Colombia, and back in the day it would be hard to find a coffee shop serving good coffee in Colombia. However, as we’ve learned from our friends, recently, coffee culture gained popularity on the local market as well, and specialty shops started appearing. Furthermore, even established commercial chains like Cafe Quindio started offering manual brewing methods like syphon or dripper in their shops.

So, I was determined to find some good coffee. When exiting the museum, we noticed a little cafeteria on the ground floor. Sergio said: ‘Look, here you go, a coffee place!’ I hesitated for a moment, having a sort of predisposition against coffee in museum cafeterias, but still decided to take a look. It appeared to be a specialty coffee shop! I ordered a V60 brew and it exceeded all my expectations. So, it definitely worth marking Café Ibáñez on your map if you are a coffee lover traveling to Bogota.

La Candelaria

After the pleasant coffee break we decided to walk in La Candelaria down the street towards the Bolivar Square, the main square of Bogota.

I kept taking photos with my camera until Sergio told me: 

— You look like a tourist.

— Oh, well, of course I do. I am tall and blond.

— No, I mean your big camera.

So, I hid my camera, which didn’t make me feel more comfortable, since the bag was still on me. Gosh, I regretted leaving my palm-size Ricoh camera at home in Germany! That was such a picture-worthy vibrant area, I wish I could shoot more of it on something better than my iPhone.

Monserrate

Closer to the evening we took a taxi and drove to the base of the mountain Monserrate. The plan was to meet up again with the girls and guys from Sergio’s family and to take a cable car to the mountaintop.

However, the Christmas illumination attracted too many visitors. Besides, many people were still enjoying their winter vacations and schools were closed for holidays. We spent an hour (or even longer) in line to the ticket shop before we heard that we would probably have to wait for another two hours to get to the top. We thought that it would probably be more reasonable to come back on some other week.

Photos taken in January 2020

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Last year on our way to Canada we decided to stop by in New Jersey for a couple of days. Sergio’s family lives there, and although we were going to meet everybody in Canada, we thought it would be nice to make a quick stop in the US, too. Of course we also enjoyed the opportunity to spend one day in the New York City.

New York is huge, and it’s impossible to visit all of its iconic spots on a single day, but luckily we’ve already been there several times (and I still have so many photographs from my previous travels which I hope to show you someday), and therefore did not necessarily have to run from one sight to another in order to catch ‘em all.

This time, there were two major things on our list. Firstly, I wanted to see the city from above and, secondly, I wanted to visit Brooklyn. These two experiences were still missing on my New York bucket list. Oh, well, I’ve actually been to Brighton Beach in Brooklyn before, but that’s a whole different story (and a very different Brooklyn).

To get to the city we took the NJ Transit to Penn Station, which is conveniently located in Manhattan and is a good starting point for city explorations. Not far from the station there is a huge camera shop B&H Photo and Video. As a hobby photographer I love such shops, so we decided to make a quick stop there as well. Testing the latest camera models and lenses was great fun.

Empire State Building Observatory

Then we went straight to the Empire State Building. Visiting its observation deck to see the city from above was the first item on our list. On our previous visits we deliberately avoided going there not to lose precious time waiting in line. However, on that day we got lucky and almost did not have to wait, probably due to the fact that we chose not the most popular time of day. Of course it would have been nicer to take photos in sunset light, but, again, we only had a single day this time.

Despite the non-photogenic light we were still able to enjoy the view. I attached a tele-zoom to my camera, and was having fun looking for familiar buildings. Some of them I remembered from my previous visits, while others I have seen so many times in various movies.

Lunch in Koreatown

After our visit to the Empire State Building, we thought it was time for lunch. We headed straight to Koreatown, where we resisted the temptation to go to Turntable, an amazing chicken wings place. We just wanted to discover something new. 

At random we picked a Korean place which seemed appealing. The restaurant was called Black by Dons Bogam, and as I have recently learned, unfortunately it no longer exists. Our lunch there was by all means memorable. The fun part was that in addition to our shared meal for two we got something which looked like a harvest of one whole greenhouse. There was a whole bucket of salad, some veggie sticks and extremely hot chillis. Fortunately enough, we’ve already been to Korea and did not need an explanation of what is the right way to approach this meal.

— This chilli does not seem to be very hot, — me after taking a small bite.

— No, indeed, not hot at all.

— Ok, — biting a larger chunk.

— …, — doing the same.

— @#$#%#^@#$@!!!!!

Somehow the reaction was delayed, and, believe me, it was pure fire. It was rather painful, but we still had a good laugh afterwards.

Walking through Manhattan

After the lunch we decided to walk along already familiar streets in Manhattan. We walked towards the Flatiron Building to look at it at a different perspective. I find this building really beautiful. Incredible that it was built already in 1902!

I got a coffee to go from some coffee selling truck and we continued our walk.

The rooftop water towers are a constant on the New York City skyline and a part of the city’s infrastructure. As buildings grew taller than six stories, the main water infrastructure couldn’t handle the water pressure. So, such water towers were needed to move water safely to upper floors. They are in use even nowadays.

Grace Church

We walked all the way towards Nolita, a hip neighbourhood which got its name as a derivation from ‘North of Little Italy’.

We noticed the first hints of sunset. It was a sign for us that we should hurry up, if we wanted to see Brooklyn before it gets dark.  

We decided to take subway and went to Essex Station. While we were purchasing our tickets, the ticket machine would not accept our credit card at first. Some young guy, who was just passing by, asked us whether we needed help and even offered to buy us the tickets. It was so kind of him! Luckily, no help was needed, because our second card got accepted.

Sunset in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

The place I specifically wanted to see in Brooklyn this time was Dumbo in Williamsburg. It’s a neighbourhood, which became popular for the spot at Washington Street, from which one can see the Manhattan Bridge with the Empire State Building beneath.

Oh, well, I guess it was too optimistic of me to hope to take a picture of that place in sunset light as I imagined it — with empty streets and brick walls framing the scene. Haha, my personal ‘expectation vs reality’ moment.

Anyway, the place is pretty indeed! Even with all those crowds…

We really liked the vibe of this area. On our way back we were passing by a place called The Archway. A live band was playing there, and people had fun. We hanged around for a while before heading back to Penn Station.

At the station, we bought our tickets to the NJ Transit and spent the remaining time before the train buying Magnolia bakery cupcakes. The cupcakes turned out to be pure joy, and now I can tell they are absolutely worth the hype.

Photos taken in August 2019

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Our trip to Hong Kong felt like an adventure. We only got to spend one day in the city as a layover between flights. Of course this amazing city has a lot to offer and one day is by no means enough to fully experience it, but we tried to make the best out of this opportunity.  The cool thing about Hong Kong for us was that we were not required to get a visa and entering the country was as easy as just showing a passport.

We arrived with an early flight from Tokyo and because of switching time zones even won us an hour back. In the airport we bought tickets for the express train to the city, and it took us about 20 minutes to get there. Considering the fact that we only had one day for all, such a close proximity of the airport to the city came in very handy.

Looking for a place to have lunch

It was about lunchtime in Hong Kong when we reached the Central Station. Following a friend’s advice we wanted to visit Tim Ho Wan, a dim sum restaurant originated in Hong Kong which became popular for getting a Michelin star, despite being very affordable. Since then it turned into a chain with locations in nine different countries and became even more popular. We discovered that there was a shop directly at the Central Station. However, when we got there, we saw a line which could easily take two hours of our time. Somehow long lines turned out to be the curse of our trip  

So, we decided to leave the station and see if we can find a nice lunch place somewhere around. We also wanted to make a quick stop in the Hard Rock Cafe to get a pin. 

‘Picnics’ on the streets

When we left the station and faced the city, I was really surprised by one thing: there were women all around! They were sitting in small groups on the cardboard boxes spread on the ground, having their drinks and lunch boxes. It all looked like a giant picnic, and the whole thing was so out of place in the city’s central business district right next to the luxury boutiques like Cartier or Louis Vuitton.

After a quick googling, we have learnt that it is a Sunday tradition which brings together over 300,000 of immigrant women (mostly Filipina and Indonesian) who labor in Hong Kong as domestic helpers.

We also have learnt that they do hours of hard work for very low salary, a big part of which they usually send to their extended families in their home counties, and they only have off on Sundays. They use their days off as an opportunity to connect with fellow citizens and enjoy the taste of their homelands by sharing these self-prepared meals of their local cuisines. Although at that moment they seemed to look happy, but the scene we witnessed was such a grotesque illustration of the inequalities we have in our world.

Mong Kok

We tried to approach some restaurants. Soon, however, we have realised that many places in the area also had waiting times or required in advance reservation. Sergio suggested to try Mong Kok, the busiest district in the world according to the Guinness World Records. The area is well-known for it’s shops, markets and food places.

When we arrived there, we started googling for restaurants with good reviews. Ironically, all places with acceptable rating were either chain fast-food points or some international cuisine restaurants. We wanted instead something authentic. And we found it! 

Where locals eat

Our next idea was to check on the google maps the filter ‘where locals eat’ (believe me or not, this post is not sponsored by Google), and here we go — we found a highly rated place! It was a bit far and required some walking, but it was our last hope and nothing could stop us. When we arrived, we discovered that the place was open and it looked so weird! In the huge hall we saw many big round tables, and the place was (like everywhere in Hong Kong) full of people. It was decorated in a funny way, somehow reminding me of banquet canteens in the post-USSR. You know, these synthetic crystal chandeliers, cheap plastic stucco on the walls, carpet floor with not matching ornaments… We felt excitement!

They brought us to a table, where two older ladies were already seating. While we were examining the menu, these ladies kindly offered us tea from their teapot. Apparently they were surprised and excited to see foreigners. We soon have realised that the staff was not speaking English and the menu was completely in Chinese, despite the fact that Hong Kong is one of former British colonies and English is also considered to be an official language there. Well, apparently not in that restaurant.

There were a couple of pictures in the menu, but for the rest we just had to guess. Funny enough, our knowledge of basic Japanese kanji came in handy — since this alphabet was brought to Japan from China, many of the characters preserved their meaning. So, at least we could know what kind of meat was in the dishes and could make our orders based on that. Looking at the neighbouring table we realised that the meals are served in small portions and are meant to be shared, so we ordered some. In general, the food was really good and authentic. There were a couple of weird things, but most of what we ordered was really tasty. The whole lunch experience felt like a real adventure!

The Goldfish Street

After the lunch Sergio suggested that we go to Wang Jiao (also known as the Goldfish Street, the famous pet shop street in Mong Kok. No, we didn’t plan to bring back home a pet, but I must tell you — this street is something! I have never seen so many pet shops in a single place, and in fact, in my entire life I have never seen as many pet shops as this street has. There one can buy all kinds of fish, turtles, kittens, bunnies, puppies and even some exotic animals like for example scorpions or rhino beetles.

We also went to check the electronics market, another long street selling all kinds of gadgets, but we haven’t bought anything. 

Tsim Sha Tsui promenade

All places where we’ve been so far in Hong Kong were super crowded, especially in Mong Kok, and at some point I just felt exhausted because of it. It was a very strange sensation which I never had before: for a moment I had a strong urge to hide from the crowd, which seemed to be impossible in this city. So, instead we continued our exploration and headed to the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade.

Tsim Sha Tsui is an urban area in southern Kowloon. Its broad promenade is a popular destination for tourists and locals. From the waterfront one can enjoy the nice view of the Hong Kong Skyline across Victoria Harbour. There are many cafes and restaurants alongside, as well as some tourist attractions such as the Star Ferry, historic Clock Tower and the famous Bruce Lee statue. Those who got to spend more time in the city can also visit the Hong Kong Museum of Art, the Space Museum and the Culture Centre.

Despite the fact that the place was also full of people, it felt no longer obtrusive, maybe because the whole atmosphere of the place was more relaxed in contrast to the busy districts. We slowly walked along the waterfront occasionally taking photos of the skyline and enjoying the freshness of the sea air.

Waiting for the sunset

The Symphony of Lights

There is another thing which everyone can enjoy at the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade, namely the Hong Kong’s Symphony of Lights, which is a light and sound show that takes place every night at 8:00 pm and lasts about 10 minutes. For the whole 10 minutes you can watch how the skyscrapers in the skyline glow in neon colours changing with the music beat.

Although everyone can watch the light show from the waterfront, it’s best viewed from a boat. In order to do a boat ride, one hast to book a special ticket in advance. Since this whole one-day trip was rather spontaneous, we did not book anything. We were afraid that we won’t get any tickets for the same day, but Sergio decided to check online. I could not believe when he said there were two seats available. Excited, we hurried up with the booking… Only after the transaction was accomplished have we realised that we made the reservation for the day after! Oh, we were disappointed twice: for missing the opportunity to enjoy the show and for paying for nothing (the tickets were not very cheap).

We knew that it was our own mistake and did not expect any reimbursement. Still, we decided to try asking what shall we do. We walked to the ferry’s pier and explained the situation to the guys responsible for the rides. They talked to each other, made some calls, and just said us to wait there. We were not sure what did it mean, but it seemed like we had a chance to get on the today’s ride! And indeed, another passengers started to come and were placed in line after us. We could not believe in our luck!

Soon our boat has arrived. It was the Aqua Luna II, a vintage Chinese wooden boat with purple-ornament sails. Since we were the first in line, we got to chose our seats. They served us drinks of our choice (one drink is included in the ticket) and the ride has begun. It was so nice just to finally seat there and relax after such a long and intense day. It was a 45-minutes ride and the light show was its absolute highlight. I truly enjoyed it! I felt so thankful for many things at the moment: starting with the fact that these nice people have allowed us to participate in the ride, up to being grateful for this interesting life full of opportunities in general.

After the ride was finished, we decided to call it a day and headed back to the airport, where we made it on time to our flight to Amsterdam. This day in Hong Kong was an amazing experience and I would totally love to return to that city for a longer period of time. 

Photos taken in April 2018

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With this post I would like to wrap up my Japan 2018 series and show you some photos which I did not include in the previous posts. In case you do not know, Japan is actually not the only place I travel to, and on my hard drive I have gigabytes of photos taken on other trips to countries in Europe, Asia and North and South Americas. So, after this post, before I continue showing you Japan in the photos from my most recent trip to this amazing country (I went there again in March 2020), I am planning to take you on a journey to some other beautiful destinations.   

Having returned from the JR Pass trip through the country, we spent another week in Tokyo. I already showed you the blooming cherry blossoms in Chidorigafuchi park and the lucky cat temple Gotokuji — the photos in these posts I shot on the two days when I was not lazy to bring my heavy DSLR camera with me. Most of the photos in this post, in contrast, were shot on my old iPhone or on a tiny Ricoh GR II on the days, when I did not feel like carrying much stuff on me. 

So, what else did we do on that week? First of all, on each day we would meet with people. During our previous stays in the city we developed so many good relationships with different folks living there, and it was really nice to see them again. We would go to izakaya and restaurants, party at Shibuya or enjoy doing hanami with friends. Aww, great times!

Of course we also did some touristy things. Let me list here some of them!

Riding a boat under cherry blossoms on the Sumida river

When our friend Paul asked us, if we would like to do a guided cherry blossom viewing boat ride, we thought it was a great idea. We planned it for the day we were returning back from Osaka. After we brought the luggage to our hotel, we met with Paul and walked towards the Nihonbashi bridge, a historic landmark in Tokyo and the starting point for the boat ride. On the way Paul said that we should get us some drinks for the ride. We wondered whether it won’t be strange to have the drinks during a guided tour, but he said: ‘You will see!’ 

Soon we were seated in the boat. Our guide, a friendly Japanese lady, has welcomed all passengers, translating everything in English for our small group. The atmosphere was super cosy and friendly. The boat has started and we were surprised to see that and all passengers at once took out their drinks and even some bento boxes. Haha, apparently that would have been even weird not to have anything with us! As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, hanami always comes together with food and drinks, and watching cherry blossoms from a boat is in fact nothing different than doing a hanami!

We were truly enjoying the ride. Our guide was telling us interesting facts about the city before we started reaching the places where blooming trees were densely framing the riverbanks. It got dark by that time, the metropolis turned on its lights and the blooming clouds were beautifully lit by lanterns. There were many people on the river banks and bridges, also enjoying cherry blossoms. Many were waving at us when the boat was passing by. We were waving back and it was super fun.

I felt nostalgic when the boat was passing by the area where we once used to live. It has brought back the memories of the time when the three of us met as flatmates in an old apartment building, which has since been demolished. I could see the Sumida promenade, where I would often enjoy my late night jogging. I even enjoyed the strong smell of water and algae, which I used to find disgusting back in the days.  

When the boat ride was over, we decided to grab some snacks and continue doing hanami in the tiny Hamacho park close to the water. We knew this place from before and it felt so good to be back.

Akihabara shopping

I have been to Tokyo many times already and no matter what, somehow we always end up going to Akihabara as one of the first things after we arrive. Akihabara is a very vibrant city part, with huge concentration of electronics shops, gaming gear, anime stuff and other otaku attributes. Even if you are not into electronics or anime, most certainly you will still be amazed by the vibe of this bright and noisy neighbourhood. In Akihabara, I love entertaining myself by going to the Big Camera store and trying out the newest photography gear. 

We had a short break in an Excelsior Caffe. It is a popular chain in Japan, which can be compared to Starbucks. Their coffee is ok, not specialty (but I’ve noticed on their website, they also opened a specialty branch), but they have nice cakes and the atmosphere is usually cosy. The one in Akihabara is a bit overcrowded though.

Back in the day Sergio was upgrading his computer and wanted to buy a new GPU, so we also checked out some shops with computer components. However, we soon have discovered that there was no advantage in buying the stuff there. I probably should add that it was certainly before the day I joined the famous GPU company

Odaiba and the Miraikan museum

During my first internship in Tokyo, my supervising professor had another lab in Miraikan, which is not only a museum of science and innovations, but also a big research center. It happened that I visited the place a couple of times. I even got invited to a summer party organised for its employees, where me and some other foreign students had a quick informal chat with Mamoru Mohri, the Executive Director for the Miraikan, also famous for being the second Japanese astronaut.  

Although I happened to visit the place, I never got to see the public exhibition. During that trip we decided to tick it off the list. That day we got up relatively early in the morning and took a futuristic monorail of the Yurikamome line, which brought us to Odaiba, a man-made island in the Tokyo Bay. It is possible to get to Odaiba by bus or by subway, but I would totally recommend taking the monorail, since the ride through the Rainbow Bridge on itself is an absolutely fun experience. If it is not that crowded, try to get a place in the train’s front (the ‘driver’s spot’) and you will enjoy the feeling of a roller coaster ride through a futuristic landscape. 

Before going to the Miraikan, we made a quick stop at the DiverCity Tokyo Plaza mall where we had some takoyaki for lunch in the food court area.

We also appreciated the giant statue of Gundam, which has replaced the older one.

The museum itself I found a bit disappointing. I am not sure now what I was expecting to see, but being there it felt like the whole exposition was designed for kids as its target audience. We saw some android robots and watched a part of the performance of Asimo, Honda’s famous robot. We went through the interactive installations demonstrating some scientific principles. It was ok, but somehow not very engaging for me.

After the museum we decided to return to the DiverCity mall to do some shopping. Sergio wanted to buy a Gundam constructor in The Gundam Base located in the mall, and I helped him to chose a Unicorn Gundam kit. Here I must say, although I am not a Gundam fan myself, I still enjoyed the store, in particular looking at the huge display with so many variations of different Gundams. 

Roppongi

On the last day of this trip, after visiting the Gotokuji temple, we decided to go to Roppongi. Roppongi is another district in Tokyo. This city part is known as a place where many foreigners live. There is also a big number of foreign restaurants and bars there, and there are also some night clubs, where the majority of visitors are usually foreigners. I am not sure, if it is still like that nowadays, but this is how I remember it from the days I was living in Tokyo.

This time we wouldn’t have time for clubbing or bar hopping in Roppongi. We actually wanted to visit the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, a 54-story skyscraper with an observation deck on top, and yet again — the line to get there was so long, that we decided to leave it for another visit. Instead we spent some time in the super cool museum shop in the building. I bought a set of two plastic flower vases in original Mori Art Museum design. I just love museum shops in modern art museums! There is always so much fun stuff to see there!

Having left the Roppongi Hills, we made a quick stop at another Hard Rock Cafe, where I bough another cool pin for my collection. After that we met with Paul again, who agreed to join us for a ramen before we left to the hotel close to the airport in order to catch our early morning flight to Hong Kong.

Photos taken in March 2018

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If you travel to Hiroshima, make sure you plan an extra day to visit the island of Itsukushima, also known as Miyajima. It is an absolutely beautiful spot located an hour away from the Hiroshima’s main station. Many of you may be familiar with the iconic view of the red torii gate standing in the water. This floating gate is the most recognisable landmark of the Itsukushima Shrine complex. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Itsukushima Shrine and the red torii

Apart from that shrine, there is a big number of other temples and shrines on the island. The nature is also very beautiful there. One can enjoy cherry blossoms during spring time and red maple leaves in autumn. The island is also quite mountainous, which makes it a good hiking destination.

We got lucky to come to that place on a sunny day. The red color of the torii was particularly vivid in the blueness of the surrounding water.

This place has another fun perk! Similarly to Nara, it is populated by deer. Unlike in Nara, tourists are not allowed to feed them. Hence, these small deer behave much better and do not attack people. Some of them actually allowed me to pet them.

Streets of Miyajima

There are also many food options on Miyajima. One can get a bento from a convenience store, buy some seafood snack from a street merchant or have a meal in one of small traditional restaurants. We chose a very cosy place ふじたや for lunch and had perfect rice bowls topped with grilled eel.

After the lunch we went on a small hike. We walked through the nice streets of the town towards the ropeway station. On the way, we enjoyed some sweet potato ice cream and visited a super cool store selling statues carved of wood.

Mount Misen

The ropeway brought us to the upper station on Mount Misen, the highest peak on Miyajima. Although it is already possible to enjoy the view from the observation deck next to the station, getting to the very peak of the mountain requires some further hike. Hence, we left the observation deck and took a narrow path through the forest.

Daisho-in

On the way to the top, we passed by some halls of the Daisho-in, an important Buddhist temple. In one of the temple buildings, I bought a very cute daruma-shaped ema. Daruma is a Japanese traditional red doll seen as a symbol of good luck. Ema are wooden plaques with some drawings, which typically one can buy in both Shinto and Buddhist temples. After purchasing an ema, you are supposed to write down a wish on it and then hang it in a dedicated spot next to the temple in a way so that the wish can be read by anybody. The more people read the wish, the bigger are chances of it coming true. I did not have any wish to write and brought the ema back home as a souvenir. 

Low tide

After we took the ropeway back and came back to the red gate, we were surprised by the change of the scenery. The water was gone!

During the low tide, which usually starts in the afternoon, is possible to come close to the gate. We decided to join multiple tourists and took a closer look. We could not believe that the ground we were standing on was completely covered by water some hours before!

The whole scenery was stunning in the rays of the setting sun. We walked towards the ferry station to continue our trip.

Photos taken in March 2018

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